Footprints In The Sand
by AndieXD
Summary: What happened to Sirius after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.


AVADA KEDARVA

Sirius' eyes fluttered open, his vision for a short while blinded by the brightest of lights _'Where Am I'_he thought to himself silently as struggle to to stand on his shaking skinny leg. He look before him to be met by the whitest of sandy beaches and the the clearest of sapphire blue oceans. Sirius looked out on the view in a a state of awe as he had never seen anything so beautiful, so clam or so clean for that matter.

"Are you just planning on standing there all day?"

Sirius turned as he heard the thick Scottish accent of a woman behind him, a voice he instantly had recognised. He remained looking out at the ocean a moment longer, savouring the sound of her in fear that he would turn around and the voice he thought he had known belonged to another. He took a deep breath and held it in his chest as he turned.

"Marlene?" she said on his long held breath, blinking several times to be sure his eyes weren't deceiving him.

"Yes, Well done Sherlock, your powers of deduction never fail to amaze me" The blonde said with a playful hint of sarcasm to her tone. She held her hand out to him with a caring smile on her lips, "Anyway, there's something I must show you".

Sirius took her small hand into his and allowed himself to be lead up the beach by Marlene. He looked around confused at what he was supposed to be looking at. By the means of a carefully timed cough and pointing her finger to the ground. He saw what she was wanting his to see but his confusion did not ease, as he was looking at footprints in the sand, a point where the foot prints of one person had changed to that of two walking side by side.

"Don't you get it? Sirius, this is your life" Marlene told him in in a soft tone.

Sirius looked at them then back to Marlene, "You're saying my life has been reduced to nothing but footprints on a beach?"

"It sounds depressing when you put it like that but in essence, yes. This point in your life is the night I died, I suppose for lack of a better term I've been your guardian angel, watching over you" Marlene explained as Sirius took a tighter grip on her hand.

"You'd do that for me, why?" he asked sheepishly.

"Because I love you, you dumb arse" she said bluntly as she lead him by the hand along side the footsteps of them walking side by side. Sirius looked intently athe footprints wondering why she could have never told him that while they were alive. Sirius shook off his thoughts as he stopped dead in his tracks and looked at a point where the two foot prints had gone back to the one set.

"Marlene, what part of my life is this?"

"That's the night James and Lily died" She told him in a calm tone, As Sirius instantly let go of her hand and turned a disgusted look on her.

"You left me? on that night, of all the night you could have chosen to leave me, that was the night you chose?"

"Sirius Black, If I could get a word in edge ways!" she yelled over him, "James' death hit you so hard as you may not have been brothers in blood but were in bond. His death was such a blow to you that I wasn't sure you'd be able to pick yourself up Sirius, there is only one set of footprints there because I was carrying you!" she told him sternly as Sirius was instantly dumbstruck but when he thought about it something must have given him the strength to go to the murder scene and try to take Harry into his care. They carried on down the path of footprints until it began to look like two people had been knelt in the sand.

"Marlene, what about here?" he asked having a feeling he already knew the answer.

"That was your stint in Azkaban, that's where I was holding you, reminding you everyday, that you were innocent and a good person who didn't belong there" She explained softly and carried on leading him past his life in his footprints from his escape to his life on the run to rejoining the order to his death.

As the reached the end both Marlene and Sirius stopped in their tracks in silence looking at each other with half smiles as if some kind of stalemate. This moment was was broken as Marlene quickly hugged Sirius tightly.

"I've waited many years to do that" she said sweetly as Sirius held her close to his skinny frame.

"I missed you, After all these years and not a day of it on your face" He said in a soft tone and he began to bring his lips down to hers but before they had a chance to meet.

"Too bad the same can't be said for you Padfoot"

Sirius looked up over Marlene's head to see his best-friend James stood hand in hand with his wife, Lily. Marlene Released Sirius from the hug and raised her shoulders as if to say_ 'what are you waiting for?'_. Sirius ran to his to James and hugged him before hugging Lily and Marlene walked beside him and to his hand as the three lead him away from his footprints but he stopped once more.

"James, Lily wait. What about Harry?" Sirius the two as the red head turned back to him.

"He'll never forget us, Sirius therefore we'll be there when he needs us" Lily said as she carried on walking with her husband.

"The tides coming in, are you ready? Everyone is waiting for you" Marlene said sweetly looking to the setting sun as Sirius looked and the waters edge of his footprints, he gazed for a moment or two before turning back to the blonde.

"Yes, as long as we go together" he said looking reassurance which came to him in the form of Marlene's smile as she nodded and uttered a simple "Yes".


End file.
